Within the nursery industry, baskets of various types are used extensively in the display and transport of machine dug trees and shrubs. The baskets are intended to serve a two-fold purpose: first, to secure the root ball of the plant firmly, to prevent its deterioration during handling and transportation; and secondly, to provide a means for machine lifting and moving of the tree or shrub.
Such baskets commonly comprise an exterior framework formed of a number of lengths of wire joined together in the form of a basket-shaped grid structure, with an interior lining of a suitable material, such as burlap, or another material having a loosely woven, open mesh, so as to hold the root ball intact, while allowing moisture and nutrient to pass therethrough.
Baskets are required having various sizes and configurations, according to the variety of root systems of plants utilized by the nursery industry and according to the type of cut produced by different types of digging machines or tree spades. Such equipment generally produces a root ball cut to the shape of an inverted cone section. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide baskets which conform substantially to the shape and size of the particular root ball, in order to preserve the root system in an intact condition during handling of the plant.
The wire baskets which serve to reinforce the lining are commonly manufactured by joining together several individual strands of wire to form a grid structure having the required size and shape. Such grid structures are often subject to breaks at the junction points of the wires when subjected to the normal stresses induced during their use.
Another disadvantage inherent in the fabrication of such baskets, is that it often can be a relatively costly and complex task when it requires that many individual strands of wire be aligned together, and joined, to form the desired final shape. The degree of complexity of the task is increased in proportion to the variety of sizes and shapes required to be produced. The task of forming and joining the wire strands is often, at least in part, performed manually, and it can be appreciated that such a process will require considerable skill on the part of the worker.
There is a felt need, therefore, to overcome such difficulties by providing wire baskets fabricated from continuous strands of wire, as well as methods and means for producing such baskets in a variety of shapes and sizes using relatively simple and inexpensive techniques.